Ocean Freight Manager

Accountstaff (EA); Singapore; On-site; SGD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Accountstaff (EA) is seeking an experienced Ocean Freight professional to own the Ocean P&L, grow volume, and improve yield. You will act as the local market expert, working closely with clients, carriers, and internal teams to deliver profitable growth.

The role focuses on commercial and P&L management, client and sales support, carrier procurement, and regional leadership. Travel regionally may be required.

Qualifications

• Experience leading Ocean Freight P&L and district growth.
• Strong market intelligence and client-facing skills.
• Proven ability to manage tenders, RFQs, quotes, and freight optimization.
• Excellent communication and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

• Own the Ocean P&L and drive volume growth and yield improvements.
• Lead P&L reviews and participate in book-of-business growth reviews.
• Quote, invoice, and escalate disputes to maintain district financial health.
• Forecast district performance and provide data-driven insights.
• Engage with clients; design go-to-market strategies and tailor offerings.

Skills

Ocean Freight

P&L management

Trade strategy

Market intelligence

Client relationships

Negotiation

Forecasting

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in supply chain

Job description

We are looking for an experienced Ocean Freight professional to own the Ocean P&L. You will grow volume and improve yield, act as the local market expert, and work closely with clients, carriers, and internal teams to deliver profitable growth.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial and P&L Management

• Manage the Ocean P&L, growing volume and increasing yield.

• Build and own the P&L review, and take an active part in book-of-business growth reviews.

• Drive the district’s financial health, including quoting, invoicing, and dispute escalation.

• Support near-term and long-term district forecasting.

• Use data to guide decisions.

Client and Sales Support

• Execute trade strategy and act as the market expert, providing market intelligence and insight into trade-specific practices to the commercial team, and engaging directly with clients.

• Work closely with the General Manager, Sales, Business Development, and Account Management to grow new and existing clients.

• Review the sales pipeline with sales team regularly, define action plans, and steer Sales towards the right segments and opportunities.

• Help design products and tailor go-to-market strategies for clients.

• Join client calls as the Ocean representative.

• Own tenders and RFQs for the district to win regional and global clients, including fine-tuning sell-rate margins on main freight, origin/destination charges, and demurrage and detention (D&D).

Carrier and Procurement

• Build and grow relationships with local carriers, take responsibility for local carrier terms such as free time, local charges, waivers, and credit.

• Gather local market intelligence on rates, utilization, blank sailings, and extra loader plans, in coordination with Procurement and Fulfillment.

• Handle local procurement for new growth trades in line with Procurement (decentralized trades such as Intra-Asia and Oceania).

• Manage procurement for partner and co-loader requirements within the district, in close coordination with Procurement, Allocation, and Fulfillment.

Operations and Performance

• Monitor volume performance and booking intake against commitments, ensure agreed allocations are fully used, and hold Demand and clients accountable.

• Work with Procurement, Pricing, Allocation and Planning, and District Management to deliver globally optimized results for the Ocean P&L.

• Identify and drive improvements in go-to-market, operational, and financial processes.

Leadership

• Lead, train, and develop up-and-coming talent.

Requirements

• 10 years of Ocean Freight experience at a leading freight forwarder or carrier, or 5+ years of supply chain experience with a Bachelor’s degree.

• Strategic vision combined with hands-on execution.

• A strong bias towards action, process, structure, and data.

• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills.

• A genuine commitment to client success.

• Willingness to travel regionally.

• The confidence to challenge the status quo when logic and reason call for it, and to fix what is broken.

• A desire to lead and develop others.